You Can Make a Difference- April 13, 2012

Many of you were moved by the meaningful stories of hardship and struggle presented by some of our Lenten Lecture Series speakers. You heard from the Archbishop of Tanzania about women forced to walk 6 miles a day for a bucket of clean water. You heard Rev. Johannes George speak of his life in war-torn Sierra Leone, a country that is now ten years later trying to recover from parents being hacked to death in front of their children during the horrible “Blood Diamond” violence.

We hear these stories on the news, and we tune them out. Now, we have a name and a face with these stories. They are more personal now. And some of you want to change things for the better, even if only a little bit.

You can make a difference.

We have two projects that we are currently pursuing. One is the Tanzania Water Project, towards which already several thousand dollars has been pledged. The objective is to purchase and deliver an LS-200 water well drilling rig to the Archbishop of Tanzania during our church mission trip to Kenya June 19th-30th. I will personally deliver the rig, provided that we can clear customs in a timely manner. Those logistics are still being worked out. In addition to delivering this drilling rig, we will administer training in some form. It will be owned by the Diocese of Dar Es Salaam and they will drill wells around the country for those who do not have clean drinking water easily accessible.

More importantly, we want to begin a relationship that could last for many years. Airfare there is $2000 round trip. It is quite possible for those with the time and means to make annual trips there to do needs assessments and to hear the stories of how clean water has changed their lives. If you are interested in donating to this project, please make your checks payable to Christ Episcopal Church and put Tanzania Water Project in the memo line.

The other project we are pursuing is the Sierra Leone Recovery Project, which has two parts. The Rev. Johannes George ships several times a year a container of goods (medical supplies, clothing, etc.) to Sierra Leone. The cost of the container is about $4500. The goods are donated or bought. Virtually every type of need exists in Rev. George’s home village. If you are interested in donating to this project, please make your check payable to Christ Episcopal Church and write Sierra Leone Container in the memo line.

The second part of the recovery project is to build a school in Rev. George’s village. The cost for the facility is a mere $20,000, which should be able to educate at least 60-90 children. If we build the facility, the government will provide the teachers at no cost. If you are willing to donate to this project, please make your check payable to Christ Episcopal Church and write Sierra Leone School in the memo line. We hope that this will lead to a long term relationship as well

You can make a difference. Consider giving to one of these projects. I will be in touch with more details as things progress.